Josephine Cecilia Peary ( Diebitsch; May 22, 1863 – December 19, 1955) was an American author and

arctic explorer Arctic exploration is the physical exploration of the Arctic region of the Earth. It refers to the historical period during which mankind has explored the region north of the Arctic Circle. Historical records suggest that humankind have explored ...

. She was the wife of

Robert Peary Robert Edwin Peary Sr. (; May 6, 1856 – February 20, 1920) was an American explorer and officer in the United States Navy who made several expeditions to the Arctic in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was long credited as being ...

, who claimed to be the first to have reached the geographic

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

Early life

Josephine Cecilia Diebitsch was born on May 22, 1863 on a farm in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. Her mother, Magdalena Augusta (Schmid) Diebitsch, was from

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

. Her father, Hermann Henry Diebitsch, was a military officer from

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, the Diebitsch family farm was destroyed, which led the family to relocate to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Hermann was a clerk at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

. She had a brother, Emil Diebitsch, who later became the mayor of Nutley, New Jersey, and a sister, Marie Diebitsch. Josephine attended

Spencerian Business College Spencerian Business College is the name of various business schools established in the 19th century by Platt R. Spencer, his son Robert C. Spencer, or by Enos Spencer (whose relation to the other two Spencers is unclear), sometimes in association ...

and graduated as the class valedictorian in 1880. She found herself qualified and on track for a copyist, clerk, and tallyist position at the

and the

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation ...

. Josephine wrote ''My Arctic Journal'' (1893) during the

Peary expedition to Greenland of 1891–1892 The Peary expedition to Greenland of 1891–1892 was where Robert Edwin Peary, Sr. set out to determine if Greenland was an island, or was a peninsula of the North Pole. History Peary sailed from Brooklyn, New York on June 6, 1891 aboard the . Ab ...

Marriage and Family

Josephine first met

in 1885 while she was attending dancing school. They got engaged in 1886, at which time she resigned from the Smithsonian Institution. She married him on August 11, 1888. She often accompanied him on his northern travels, where she traveled farther North over the ice fields than any white woman had before. Her eagerness to explore the world prompted her to accompany her husband on the

. She accompanied him on six of his Arctic expeditions and was considered a First Lady of the Arctic. While they were married, in 1909, Robert Peary claimed to be the first to have reached the geographic

. At that time, Josephine stayed home on Eagle Island in Casco Bay, Maine, which Robert bought in 1877. Josephine and Robert had two children:

Marie Ahnighito Peary Marie Ahnighito Peary (September 12, 1893 – April 16, 1978) was an American writer and philanthropist. As the daughter of famous polar explorers Robert Peary and Josephine Peary, she spent much of her life championing her parental legacy. Ea ...

born in 1893, who became known as "Snow Baby", was born less than thirteen degrees from the North Pole, and a son, Robert E. Peary Jr. Although both children were Arctic adventurers, Robert Jr. became a construction engineer. They also had three grandchildren, Edward Peary Stafford, Robert E. Peary III, and Peary Diebitsch Stafford.

Later life and death

In 1914, the Pearys bought the house at 1831 Wyoming Avenue NW in the

Adams Morgan Adams Morgan (abbreviated as AdMo) is a Neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in the city’s Northwest (Washington, D.C.), Northwest quadrant. Adams Morgan is noted as a historic hub for Counterculture of ...

neighborhood of

Robert Peary began renovating the house in 1920, shortly before his death, after which the renovation was taken over by Josephine. Josephine sold the house in 1927, receiving a $12,000 promissory note. She moved to

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

, in 1932. She died on December 19, 1955, at the age of 92.

Works

* ''My Arctic Journal'' (1893) * ''The Snow Baby'' (1901) * ''Children of the Arctic'' (1903)

Awards and Accomplishments

* Granted the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, natural sc ...

's highest honor, the Medal of Achievement, for her Arctic accomplishments. * A charter member of the Philadelphia Geographic Society as well as the Appalachian Mountain Club. * An honorary member of a Woman Geographers Club.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peary, Josephine Diebitsch 1863 births 1955 deaths American explorers of the Arctic Female explorers People from Adams Morgan Writers from Maryland